Apparatus for drying laundry



Feb. 28, 1950 s. FAWLANSKY 2, 9 ,3

APPARATUS FOR DRYING LAUNDRY Filed Oct. 15, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet l I NVEN TOR.

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Feb. 28, 1950 s, w Ns 2,499,328

APPARATUS FOR DRYING LAUNDRY Filed Oct. 15, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I v II I r I v I 5 INVENTOR. Jam azz/[a na/gy,

Feb. 28, 1950 s. PAWLANSKY APPARATUS FOR DRYING LAUNDRY Filed Oct. 15,1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MI? A m *4 Q R R A x ,x

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Patented Feb. 28, 1950 APPARATUS FOR DRYING LAUNDRY Sam Pawlansky,Chicago, 111., now by judicial change of name, Sam Women Sam ApplicationOctober 15, 1947, Serial No. 780,079

4 Claims. (Cl. 34 -80) 1 In my co-pending application for laundry dryingracks, for which Patent Number 2, was issued and for which anapplication for reissue, Serial Number 133,901 was filed on December 19,1949, I have disclosed a rack from which;; 5

wet laundry may be suspended for the purpose of drying.

The present invention relates to the apparatus for drying laundry, andhas for its main object the provision of an air tight sealed box withingwhich a rack such as disclosed in my said copending application, or arack of any other suitable construction, with wet laundry suspendedthereon, may be received, with means associated with the said box fordrying the laundry. A still further object of the present invention isthe provision of a box wherein wet laundry may be received, with meansassociated therewith for speeding the evaporation and adsorption ofmoisture from wet laundry.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of ahermetically sealed box, within which wet laundry may be receivedhanging on a rack with ample exposure of its surfaces to air,

with means therein provided for circulating the. 25

air in the box and passing the water vapor-laden air through adehumidifying, adsorptive desiccant and re-circulating the dehumidifiedair warmed by the heat of adsorption in order that the warm dehumidifiedair may sustain continued evapora-s tion of the moisture of the laundry.

With the above general objects in view and others that will appear asthe invention is better understood. the same cons sts in the novelconhereinafter more fully described and illustrated in the. accom anyingdrawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

. In the drawings forming a part of this application, and in which likedesignating characterspa refer to corresponding parts throughout theseveral views,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of one form of the present device,including a box with an air tight sealable door leading thereinto in anopen position;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of said form of thepresent device, on a vertical plane, the view having been taken on line2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partly cross-sectional, and partly plan fragmentary view, online 3-3 of Fig. 2; 3-

Fig. 4 is a transverse, enlarged cross-sectional view through a pair ofporous boxes of water from its housing l8.

. struction, combination and arrangement of parts 35 water vapor-ladenair is forced for adsorbing therefrom its water vapor which wasevaporated from the laundry;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the present device of a modifiedconstruction;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view, on line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view on line Fig. 6.

Referring to the present drawings in detail, there is shown therein alaundry drying rack, including four posts l0, one side pair of which isjoined by brace II at their lower ends, and by brace l2 at their upperends. The end pairs of said posts 10 are connected at their lower endsby braces l3. Each post It] carries at its lower end caster 14, by meansof which the rack may be rolled upon the floor.

Set within a pair of end posts ID, and rigidly connected thereto, is aplurality of bars l5, which are in a mutually spaced relation on avertical plane. Each of said bars I5 is provided with a plurality ofupwardly projecting lugs l6.

The opposite pair of end posts II] is provided with a plurality ofshafts I1, each shaft being on the plane with the corresponding bar l5.Set upon each of said shafts H, in a mutually spaced relation, is aplurality of tape receiving housings l8, each containing aspring-actuated reel, upon which tape I9 is wound. The free end of eachtape I9 is provided with ring to be engaged by lug l6 when tape I9 isfully extended in the rack When the free end of tape i9 is released-thespring actuated reel within housing l8 winds said tape I9 and retractsthe same into the housing.

The construction of the rack hereinabove de scribed is in all respectsidentical with that shown and described inmy said co-pendingapplication,

and it is understood that in connection with the present invention arack of any construction may gasket 2;! is afliged on vapor adsorbingdesiccant through which the. 5

be used.

The present invention includes a substantially rectangular boxZlysupported upon casters 22. The vertical walls of said box 2! areupwardly extended abover-the roof thereof in order that in conjunctiontherewith they may define water receiving pan 23.

One of the end walls of said box 2! is provided with a door openingz24closed by door 25. Said end wall along themarginal portion adjacent saidopening-24 is provided with gasket 26. Similar ,theinner face of door 25and adj acent-themarginal portion thereof. Two gaskets 26 and 21 areadapted to come in mutual I: contact when door 25 is swung upon hinges28 to a closed position to form an air tight seal.

Welded or otherwise affixed to the side Walls of box 2| and in a spacedrelation with the bottom wall thereof is ledge 23, which adjacent oneend thereof is recessed as at 30, thereby defining a pair of tongues 3|,each in contact with the adjacent side Wall of box 2| as is seen in Fig.3.

The bottom wall of box 2|, the side walls thereof and said ledge 29define air vent 32. One end of said air vent 32, adjacent said recess 33is capped out of exhaust opening 36- ofair-pump fixture- Ledge 29terminates short of the adjacent end wallofboxll and of door 25permitting passage ofair from box 2| into airvent 32. Otherwise said airvent 32, including said hood 33, is airtight...

' Receivable within air vent 32, and fitting same tightly inalongitudinal relation therewith, is a plurality of packages 31, eachmade of substan- 1 tiallyrectangular container 38 made of wire cloth orof any other suitable material. Each of said containers. 38 receives.comminuted and well packeddesiccant, such assilica gelor any othersuitable dehumidifying, hygroscopic, adsorptive desiccant. Each of.said. packages 31,, adjacent 'oneend thereof, may be. provided withhandle 39, whereby the package may be handled wheninserted into orremoved from said air vent 32.. Attached to the wall of the adjacentpackage 31, at 40 is link member 4| of a resilient metallic material.Said link member 4| has a central bulging portion-disposed away frompackage-31 with which the same is connected at 40.

The ends of said link member 4| normally contact the wall of package 31with which the same is connected, while the central bulging portionthereof is hookedwith handle 39 of the adjacent;

package 31, in a transverse relation therewith, .asis. clearly seen inFig. 4. As said packages 31 are inserted into venti32 the same arehooked up in succession through the medium of said handles 39 and linkmembers 4|. As theouter-rmost package-31 is pulled-by itshandle 39, allof said packages: 31 are caused: toshift' out of said fair went '3Z-Jdue :to the connection of allof saidpaokages'through-said handles '39and link members. Another function-of said linkmembers 4! is to act asspacers'between' the several packages: 31 and shock: absorbers;preventing Y crushing ordistortionof. packages 31,.whichiwere liabletoensue as thesameare shifted 'into'vent 32.

Receivable within box 2| is the laundry drying rack hereinabovedescribed. The same is adapted to'rest by a pair of end posts Hi upontongues 3|, while the opposite air of end posts El rests upon the end ofledge 23 adjacent door 25. Stops 42,-

'aii'lxed"either to the-adjacent vertical wall of box 2| or to tongues3|, prevents the rack from com- 4 ing in contact with the adjacent endwall of box 2|. The rack is insertable into box 2| through door opening24, and to facilitate its rolling into box 2| incline 43, supported byits upper end upon'ledge 29 and extended through door open- .ing24,:.may beprovidedfas is. seen in Fig. 2. Of course; laundry. to 1 bedried ris 2suspended upon J -tapes I I.

When the rack with laundry thereon is in position within box 2|, door 25is then shut and the drying apparatus is set in operation. On startingmotor 35 air is sucked from air vent 32 and hood 33 into pump fixture3d, and expelled through its exhaust opening 33 into the space of box2!, above ledge 29, to circulate around the suspended laundry. As theair is drawn from air'vent 32, and expelled through said air pumpfixture 34, new supply of air from the box enters air vent 32 at theopposite end thereof through recess defined by door 23 and the adjacentend of-ledge-Zfi. Asiong as the air pump is in operation there isconstant air circulation between air. vent 32 and the upper portion ofbox 2|, as is indicated by arrows in Figs. 2 and 6. The airforcedxthroughthe air pump has the degree of moisture content reduceddue to the adsorption thereof'by the desiccant contained in packages 31.That air which has been forced to circulate around the laundry upon therack receives the moisture thereof to be again passed through desiccantpackages 31, to be again expelled through the airpump. This processcontinues until the laundry'has become dry and-its moisture transferredto. the-desiccant in-Lpackages 31 due to the air circulation aforesaid.

Pan'23 maybefilled with. water only for the purpose of reducing: thetemperature of newly reactivated hot-fidesiccant .inpackages '3? and forbringingrit to a room temperature'immediately upon its leaving theovenso as not to deteriorate the rubber gaskets'ZG and. 21. This isaccompiished by depositing packages 31 containing hot desiccant in vent'32 and. closing door 25, with no laundry rackorrlaundry inbox' 2|. Pump3 2 is then set insoperation'and air withinthe apparatus is caused-tocirculate through'ventfit and box 2 I as/hereinabove "described. The:temperature of air coming in contact with the .roof of box 2| is reduceddue to the cool water in pan 23. This operation-is: continued .until:the desiccant has beenicooled to'arroom'temperature; When this hasbeenefiected; residualwateraif; any is removed from .pan'f23'- andthe-apparatus will then be'in conditionfor'normal use for drying thelaundry. All 'partslwhich are common to the'preferred form of theinvention, 'hereinabove described, and to the modified iform thereof,illustrated in Figs. 2 .5, 6.and:'1,' are:marked.with thesame referencecharacters. In;';the:-said.modifiediform or" the inventi'oniboxtzl. is.devoid of air vent 32 and ledge-29;; Theregthezlaundry drying rack restsdirectlynpon.thesbottomwall of box 2i. The end wall IOfbOXi2 withwhichudooi: 25 cooperates, isprovided with'zianfnpwardly directedextension 44, providedatits; upper end with acircular opening, withinwhichv the adjacent. end of cylinder is; tightly. fitted."Saidcylincler. 5 is preferably jmade of. metaltofl 'high :de'gree :ofconductivity.

Affixed'ito ttheouter face-of: said extension 44, and in a concentricrelation with cylinder iiiis a circular gasket465i Closure' 41 suspendedupon extension 44 byhingeefi; carries similar gasket 49. :Whenzsaidclosure 41: remains in'ia closed'position, shown in Fig. 6, gaskets 4tand 39 contact and form'an airtight-seal. Latch 59 maintains closure '41inraclosed "positioniwith relation to qmsupporting; members .I'5l:havesemi-circular .re-

amaze 53 extends through the roof of box 2| and passes downwardly intosaid box 2| and along the adjacent end wall of said box 2|, andcentrally thereof. The opposite end of said pipe 53 is connected to airpump 34 operable by motor 35, as

in the preferred form of the invention. The air sucked through pipe 53is directed in an upward direction into box 2|, as indicated by arrowsin Fig. 6, for causing the circulation thereof among the laundry piecessuspended on tapes 19 in the laundry drying rack which remains in anoperative position within box 2|, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6.

Air conduit 54 is extended into box 2|, adjacent the opposite endthereof, and within a corner thereof defined by said end wall and one ofthe side walls of box 2|. The open, lower end of said conduit 54 isdisposed adjacent the bottom wall of box 2|. Said conduit 54 is extendedthrough the roof wall of box 2|, and vthe upper end thereof is benttoward the longitudinal center of box 2|, and is connected to cylinder45 at the adjacent end of the latter.

Said cylinder 45 receives through its open end when closure 41 isopened, a plurality of packages 55, which are of like construction andcontents as packages 31 used in connection with the preferred form ofthe invention hereinabove described, except that the former are of acylindrical formation, snugly fitting within cylinder 45.

Handles 39 and link members 4|,,cooperating with said packages 55, areof like construction and operation as the corresponding parts employedin connection with packages 31.

The outermost package 55, which is adjacent to closure 41, is spacedaway fromthe adjacent end of cylinder 45, in order not to obstruct theinlet mouth of conduit 54, as is seen in Fig. 6.

During the operation of the modified form of the apparatus, both door 25and closure 41 should remain in closed positions.

During the operation of pump 34 the air is circulated and re-circulatedthrough cylinder 45, pipe 53, box 2| and conduit 54 which altogetherdefine an intercommunicating airtight system. Air leaving box 2| entersconduit 54 through the open, lower end of the latter and is forced intocylinder 45 due to the suction produced by air pump 34. In cylinder 45theiairladen with moisture extracted from the moistlaundry upon the rackwithin box 2|, filter throu h desiccant containing packages 55. Thedesiccant of course adsorbs water vapor from the air passingtherethrough, so that the re-circulatedj-air leaving pump 34 from pipe53 is dehumidifled, to act anew upon the laundry within box 2 I Thisprocess of air circulation continues as long as pump 34 continues tooperate.

Optionally cylinder 45 may be enclosed within a cloth sheath 56, whichmay besoaked with water, which due to its vaporization; cools cylinder45 and decreases the temperature of the contents thereof, including the"desiccant within packages 55 and the air passing therethrough. Thus theexchange of the temperatures on the outside and on the inside ofcylinder 45, and their equalization is effected. If however cylinder 45is made of metal having a high degree of heat conductivity, such asaluminum for instance, or is provided with cooling fins formed on itssurface and if pipe 53, conduit 54, supports 5| and extension 44 areheat insulated and furthermore if means are provided to plug pipe 53 andconduit 54, so as to stop air communication between cylinder 45 and box2|, then sheath 56 may be dispensed with because then not enough heatwould be transmitted from freshly reactivated hot silica gel in cylinder45 to deteriorate quickly gaskets 26 and 21.

It is preferab e to mois en sheath 56 only at the time when newlyreactivated desiccant. still in a hot condition, ha been placed incylinder 45, in order to bring its temperature to a normal roomtemperature. Sheath 56 should not be moistened during normal operationwhile laun dry undergoes the drying process.

When the desiccant in packages 31 and 55 has come to a saturation point,the same may be readily reactivated, without necessarily removing thesame from containers 38.

When exposed desiccant is placed in box 2|, vent 32 or cylinder 45 maybe eliminated. because due to conventional air currents in box 2| themoisture-laden air will come directly in contact with the desiccant forhaving its moisture adsorbed thereby.

While there is described herein a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, it is nevertheles to be under tood that minor changes ma? bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

What I claim as new is:

1. An ap aratus for drying laundry compris-' ing an air-tightcompartment. means in said compartment adapted to receive suspendedmoist loose exposed laundry. a flue connected at opposite ends with thecompartment. means in said flue adapted to receive a dehumidifyingagent, said means comprising a plurality of openmeshed containers. ahandle on one end of each container, a FM; on the opposite end of eachcontainer inserted through the handle of an adjoining container wherebvthe several containers are interconnected and slidably inserted into andremovable from the flue as a unit, and a fan for circu ating air throughsaid compartment and said flue.

2. An apparatus for drying laundry comprising an air-tight compartmenthaving suspending means adapted to receive moist loose exposed laundry,a flue disposed outside of said compartment. means in said flue adaptedto receive a quantity of dehumi ifying material, said means comprisinga. plurality of open-mesh containers, a handle on one end of eachcontainer, a link on the opposite end of each container inserted throu hthe handle of an adjoining container whereby the several containers areinterconnected and slidably inserted into and removable from the flue asa unit, pipes connected to both ends of said flue and extending intosaid compartment, one of said pipes having an open end within saidcompartment extending below said laundry supporting means, and an airpump connected with the inner end of the other of said pipes beingadapted to induce movement of air enclosed within said compartment in acontinuous path through said compartment, said pipes and said flue, theair moving in said compartment around the laundry therewithinwithdrawing moisture therefrom, the moisture-laden air moving into saidflue through one of said pipes being acted upon by said dehumidifyingmaterial in said flue for reducing the moisture content thereof.

7 3--Anq,ap e:r tus=.for dr n tlaunsriryr com-pr si r 1g angir-tightrcompartment having a bottom :endva r-cL Qr-Qet on rfind thereDi, w .flootn. ,se .compartment:spacedfi b v s id ottom an @0- npperetine with thbot om toi rm. a;. .1 t r 1 betwreen, said; :fioor. being spaced from.said d or at .on nd, io -e r; circulation,therebetween, we ,c,irou1atine, means connectedto the, pppositeiend of said flue, means in-saidfiueadaptfid, toxeceive ;,a .deh n1id f ine a ent. said eans p isneeplu talit tof Qpemmesh, on ai er ha, handleo on n hof leach conteinrtelinkpn o p sit r.endof .eeccontainer i se tedrt reu h the h nmd erolian v. o nine contai whe eby. th s ver l containers are. inte connected,and. inse e int and eafromihelfluer a ra un t. a dum an .1 1 said. eomrrtme t b n adapted to receive s pende mois laun ry- .4.,Aniee eretus1.9r,qry ne mater a omp ing a compartment adapted to receive the mate- 2rial to be dried, a';flue communicating with said compartment, ap'lurality of, 'foraminouscontaine rs enc1o,sing a desiccant, a handleon one end of each ofisaid containere, a link on the opposite end oteachofi said, containers insertable, through 25 57,513

and detachable from the handle of. an adjacent ,zcontainen whereby theplurality of said containers are linterconnectable, and slidablyinsertable into and removable frornseid flue as a unit,.and a fanGermany --?F- .T 'Aug. 26, 1932

